Denver Catholic

12 MARCH 9-22, 2019 | DENVER CATHOLIC Cover Story 'Ambitious' capital campaign to shape Church's future in Fort Collins and beyond D uring his fi rst year of theology in the seminary, Father Rocco Porter was gifted with a special task during Pope John Paul II's visit to Denver for World Youth Day. "I held his prayer book all the way through the Mass," he said. "It was an extraordinary experience just to be that close to him, to be in the same place with him, but then to be standing right in front of him for the majority of the Mass." The 1993 Cherry Creek Mass cele- brated by the now-saint was unlike any- thing Father Porter had ever witnessed, especially since he looked up to Pope John Paul II so much. "I knew at that point that whole experience was going to shape my priesthood," he said. What the young seminarian didn't know at the time was the infl uence the pope's visit would have on his future assignment as a priest. AN 'UNDENIABLE PRESENCE' Father Porter is the pastor of St. John XXIII in Fort Collins, where many of the Catholics involved in the parish are students at Colorado State University. Equipped with FOCUS missionar- ies and a campus ministry called Ram Catholic, St. John has been successful at nurturing the faith of young adults at CSU. But parish staž members haven't shaken the message Pope John Paul II left for the Catholic Church during his visit to Denver, and it's prompted them to desire more. "Twenty-six years later, as the Cath- olic faithful we look at all the crises inside the Church worldwide, and we have to wonder, what did this pope know?" said Luke Hecker, Capital Cam- paign Manager at St. John. "How prophetic that he could see the Church would be in such turmoil as he was planting the seeds of the New Evangelization in Denver, Colorado." To participate more deeply in that movement, the team at St. John created the "Undeniable Presence" capital cam- paign — a fi ve-year project that will shape the future of countless CSU students. "This is a very, very ambitious capital campaign," said Hecker. It's so ambitious that when Father Porter fi rst presented it to the Arch- diocese of Denver, "they pretty much laughed at me and said, 'This is great. Do you think you're going to be able to do this?'" said Father Porter. "I said, 'No, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this at all. I think God can.'" The $31 million project accounts for a new church, Newman center, parish hall and parking structure — a campus situated on the western edge of CSU. This is largely possible because of Tom Gleason, a Fort Collins Catholic who donated several acres of land to the parish in the 1960s. Initially, the parish planned on selling some of that land in order to use the funds to buy a gas station lot that was out of business. Although they were able to purchase the lot as part of the project, they were also able to keep the land by enter- ing into a 99-year lease agreement with Blackbird Investments, a Cath- olic developer that has also agreed to include Catholic student housing on the campus property. "I thought at fi rst it was a scam," said Father Porter. But it wasn't, and because of the par- ish's partnership with Blackbird, the balance left over for St. John is only $8.6 million. "Only God could take a $31 mil- lion project and bring in a benevolent Catholic developer and commit $22.4 million before we ever got a shovel in the ground," said Hecker. "I think it's miraculous. "What we are recognizing is that truly, this project is part of the prophecy of St. John Paul the Great and his pil- grimage to Colorado in 1993 for World Youth Day." For Adam Hermanson, architect for the project, the beauty of the new church will serve as a key part of the late pope's mission. "Embodying the permanence of the faith, lifting our eyes to heaven, drawing us into the intimacy of the Eucharist, and forming us for mission — this new church will be a tremendous launch pad for the new evangelization," said Hermanson. According to Hermanson, it's the details in the construction that will draw students in to practice and share their faith. "The large stained-glass window extending high above the altar will serve as a beacon to the neighborhood, visi- ble far across the university campus," he said. "Parishioners, students, clergy and campus ministry staž will utilize the Newman Center with its což ee shop, meeting rooms and active gathering spaces." Ultimately, the design, particularly of the interior of the church, "will be focused on the altar, the tabernacle and the baldachin that marks the center of the sacred space," said Hermanson. BY MOIRA CULLINGS moira.cullings@archden.org Father Rocco Porter, pastor of St. John XXIII in Fort Collins, chats with Colorado State University students. With the parish's new church building project, the priest hopes to reach even more young adults on campus. PHOTO BY JOSHUA PAUL PHOTOGRAPHY Colorado State alumni are invited to a special campaign donor event on March 30, 2019 at St. John Vianney. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a Vigil Mass and move to the refectory for a cocktail hour and dinner. Sign up for the no-cost event by visiting saintjohn.church/ presence. Denver metro parents who cur- rently have students attending Colorado State University and participating in Ram Catholic are invited to attend Mass and dinner at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on April 26. Mass will begin at 5:30 fol- lowed by cocktails at Knights Hall and dinner at 7:15 p.m.

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